The Taming of the Dragon Queen
by MikeJaffa
Summary: The REAL reason Kyohei was hired
1. Chapter 1

TITLE: The Taming of the Dragon Queen

AUTHOR: MikeJaffa

SYNOPSIS: The REAL Reason Kyohei was hired

DISCLAIMER: Gonzo owns Burst Angel; I am making no money off this

A/N: This popped into my head; it's indpendent of anything else I've done so far. Enjoy

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Sei looked at the piece of wreckage on the floor of Django's hangar and rounded on Meg, Jo, and Amy. She was not happy and didn't hide it.

"I'm sorry," Sei said. "Have I not been clear about our mission? Or is the problem that for some of us, Japanese is not a first language? I will happily repeat myself in as many languages as needed, beginning with English."

That last dig was aimed at Meg, the American teenager who had taught herself half a dozen languages in spite of growing up homeless on the streets of New York City. Meg said, "No, it's all right, Japanese is fine."

"Good," Sei said, "because I only want to say this once: Our mission is to capture a glowing brain INTACT and obtain INTEL on where these things are coming from. Vaporized is not INTACT. Charred bits of melted metal do not provide INTEL. We need MORE, like THE WHOLE THING, INTACT."

Jo bristled. "In case you haven't noticed, these things keep trying to kill me."

"AND YOU'RE TELLING ME YOU CAN'T MANAGE THE SITUATION?" Sei yelled. "ALL YOUR SKILL AND YOU CAN'T FIGURE OUT HOW TO SHOOT TO DISARM?"

"You don't like how I do my job, you do it, Sei Maybe it'll behave if you flash your boobs."

"I'm not going to dignify that with a response," Sei said. She tabbed her phone. "You still get paid, minus your bonus for bringing one in INTACT. If you want more money to spend, think about that." She stormed out of the hangar.

Amy snorted, "She's in a mood. And it's not even her period."

Meg opened her cell phone. "And I am not going to wait for the dragon queen to appear in all her glory." She began thumbing through her contacts.

Amy said, "You're not calling Leo, are you Meg?"

"I'm calling Leo, Amy."

"They're still on the rocks."

Meg dialed. "Desperate times call for desperate measures, and besides, it's been a-" She broke off and smiled. "…Oh, Hi Leo! It's Meg…Fine. Yourself?…Why am I calling? Why am I calling? Oh, I know why I'm calling." Meg cleared her throat. "See, Leo, we have…" (cough.) "….a mutual friend who's in a bad way, and she needs some, uh, manly TLC, if you know what I'm saying and-…yes, but…but….Leo, I know…But…Leo, please, I'm beg-" She broke off and listened for over a minute. "Leo, please. I'm desperate. If you do this for me, we will be in your debt, and Jo will do anything for you..." She listened for another minute. "...Oh, ok, I'm sorry you feel that way…Thanks anyway. Kiss-kiss, bye-bye." She hung up.

Amy asked, "What did he say?"

"He said, 'No,' Amy," Meg answered.

"He said a lot more than, 'No,' Meg."

"His exact words were not fit for a girl of your tender years, Amy-"

Sei barged back in. "Who was that?" she demanded.

Meg said, "My manicurist"

"Good," Sei said, "because unless Django is in urgent need of repairs, Leo is to be shot on sight." She left.

Meg groaned, "Oh, boy."

A bald, middle-aged man with an effeminate manner entered the hangar with a tray of snacks. "Well, she's in a mood," he said, speaking Japanese with a British accent.

Meg sighed. "Don't even get me started, Richard." She ate one of his little sandwiches as the others clustered around Richard's tray. "We're trying to captures things that would rather blow up instead of being captured. It's hard to bring in more than scrap metal. Makes Sei unhappy, and when Sei's unhappy, the whole world is unhappy. Or at least our little corner of it."

"I see," Richard said. "Well, then let me share something that might make your world a little brighter. I was going to tell Sei first, but since you have all been so kind to me, you get the news. Remember Arthur?"

"Yeah," Meg said, "your on-again-off-again boyfriend for the last thirty years? I thought you guys were off for good."

"So did I, but he recently got in touch with me again, and we exchanged several heartfelt messages. We cleared up a lot of issues. And then he proposed. And I said yes. I'm giving Sei my two week notice. I'm going home to England to get married."

Meg smiled. "Well, that's great, Richard! Nice to know someone is having a good day."

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Sei's mood improved a little to give Richard a sendoff dinner, but Jo's missions against glowing brains and cybots went no better, and neither did Sei's mood.

Sei was even less happy when the girls ordered pizza and sodas delivered for lunch and dinner.

She lost it one night. "Do you girls have any concept of nutritive value?"

Meg said, "We're teenagers. Teenagers eat junk food. I think it's a law of nature."

"You are also mercenaries working for me," Sei said. "I won't have you compromised in the field because you can't feed yourselves properly. Find a new chef." She started to turn away.

"Just like that?" Meg asked.

Sei turned back. "Yes! Do you want me to repeat it in Engrish, Meg?"

"No, I'm good."

"Good. Just make sure it's a man."

"Why?"

"Because I want to have a man around."

"Why?"

"Bec - Meg, just DO IT!" Sei bounded into the cockpit.

Meg groused, "Yeah, not enough we're fighting monsters. We have to find a man who can cook-" She broke off and her eyes went wide. "Find a *man* who can cook." She looked towards the cockpit, got up, and motioned Jo and Amy to follow her.

In Jo and Meg's room, Meg closed the door and turned to the other girls. "Guys, this could save our bacon. We may be able to kill two birds with one stone. And we'll be following orders. All we have to do is find a man who can cook."

Amy said, "I heard her."

"But you don't get it," Meg said. "She wants a *man.* And I think he has to be a young guy, some young hunk, maybe an American soldier from the Army base who can cook and speak ok Japanese. We need an Adonis who looks great in those cut off t-shirts that look like the sleeves were torn off, with big muscles and washboard abs and a tight butt. And we can all leave him alone here one night, and he'll tell Sei, 'Do you need anything else, Ma'am?' and she'll be like 'Please, call me Sei,' and he'll be, 'Well, Sei, are you craving anything in particular?' and she'll be like, 'Oh, yes, I am definitely hungry for what you've got-'"

Jo and Amy stared at her blankly.

"Guys, c'mon!" Meg said. "Don't tell me I'm the only one in this room who sees the potential. You follow me?"

Jo deadpanned, "Your idea is that if Sei bangs the next chef, it'll improve her mood."

"Yes, Jo," Meg said, "that is exactly my idea. You've hit the nail on the head."

"Well, why didn't you say so in the first place?"

"Jo, are you in or not?"

"Of course I am, Meg."

"Amy?"

"Whatever," Amy said, "but where are we going to find this hunky chef?"

Meg thought it over. "Well, we're talking late teens or early twenties. Maybe there are trade schools or alternate high schools where we can advertise."

Amy was already working on your laptop. "Well, let's see…Here we are, the Love and Happy Culinary Design School."

Meg looked over Amy's shoulder. "Love and Happy? That's a stupid name. Like something out of an anime."

"Maybe," Amy said, "but look at this - it's won a whole bunch of awards, and its graduates have gone on ton top cooking jobs. We do want Adonis to cook, right, Meg?"

"Of course, Amy. Can you find any student photos?"

Amy did, and Meg automatically slobbered. "Oooh, just what we need. Ok, we so we need some pics of me and Jo, and we'll go for really sexy and hungry…" Meg paused and looked at Jo. "Well, I will, and Jo…we'll see. And-"

"No, no, no!" Amy protested. "That is not the way to go. We'll never get past their spam filters, much less get anyone to take it seriously. You let me handle contacting them."

"Are you sure, Amy?"

"Meg, you keep forgetting I derive a third of my income from moonlighting as an online advertising consultant. Trust me. I've got this."


	2. Chapter 2

DISCLAIMER: Burst Angel is owned by Gonzo. This chapter and those that follow include English-language dialogue written by Eric Vale and Andrew Rye, translated from the script written by Fuhmiko Shimo. Used without permission. But I am not making any money off this story, so I would hope that if the writers get wind of this, they are flattered instead of ticked off …

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Meg opened the microwave and used a spatula to serve the two square slices of deep dish pizza onto two plates, one for herself and one for Amy.

Sei noticed. "You didn't think to set one for me?" she snapped.

"You mean you would actually eat junk food for once?" Meg asked as she got two sodas out of the fridge.

Sei relented a little. "Ok, that's a-" Her phone rang. Sei frowned at the caller ID. Then she answered it. "Hello? …. Yes?… Could you hold on a second?" She put her hand over the phone. "We have a hit off your flier, Amy. A student from the Love and Happy Culinary Design School."

Meg said, "Wow, that was fast. What's he sound like?" She took a bite out of her pizza.

"He sounds … Nice. What should I do?"

Meg swallowed. "Do? Invite him over an interview him, of course. Haven't you given a job interview before?"

"No."

Meg thought it over. Sei was right: She'd pulled Amy out of her last hideout just as RAPT had been breaking down the door, and had recruited Meg and Jo after they'd wiped out a Cyberoid mafia. Richard had been sent over by a temp service sight unseen. So the Chinese mob princess had never in her life given a real job interview. "Well, that's what I'd do," Meg said: "Ask him to come over and see if we like him." 'And maybe we'll leave you alone with him for an "in depth interview,"' she added to herself, envisioning Sei alone with a hunk.

"If you think so, Meg-"

"Sei. He's gonna hang up if you don't talk to him."

"Of course." Sei turned back to her phone. Meg half expected her to blush. "Hello?…Yes, I would like you to come over here for an interview…It doesn't have an address? Well, I'll text you the current location for your car's nav system….You don't have a car?…." She sounded alarmed: "When did that happen?…Are you all right?… Good, I'm glad to hear it…"

Meg frowned. Was that warmth in Sei's voice for someone she had only spoken to for less than a minute?

Sei went on: "…Well, was it insured?….No, I will meet you. Hang on; can you talk and text at the same time?…Great, I will send you a location…." Sei pulled the phone away from her ear and keyed something in. Then she put it back to her ear. "Got it? … How soon can you be there?…No, it's not in one of the buildings. Just wait at the southeast corner of the intersection. What do you look like?….Then I will see you soon, Mr. Kyohei Tachibana." She hung up.

Amy asked, "What was that all about?"

"He doesn't have a car," Sei explained. "He has-had - a motor scooter that was caught in the crossfire of a shootout this morning. He'd wanted to use public transportation, but I said I'd pick him up. And now that I think about it- yes, that'll work-" She tabbed her phone and held it to her ear. She smiled. "Hi, Kyohei…Yes, I'm going to want to do grocery shopping at the same time. I'd like you to make a list….Uh, I'm not sure. Think 'nutritious' and 'substantial' and 'lots of it'….Yeah, the fridge is kind of empty at the moment…" She giggled. "Yes, that does tend to happen…See you soon … 'Byyyy-eyyyyee." She hung up.

Meg said, "Wait- aren't you jumping the gun a bit?"

"What do you mean?" Sei asked.

"You haven't even hired this guy yet, and you're shopping with him?"

"You think that's too soon?"

Meg thought, 'What the-we're talking about grocery shopping with a cook she hasn't hired, and she acts like she's having a boyfriend move in. Holy crap, what is going on here?'

She said, "Uh…Sei, maybe you should hire him first?"

"Yeah, I see your point, Meg, but we are out of food and I thought it would help."

"Uh, there is that." And Meg thought: 'What is wrong with her? She's almost blushing. You'd think he'd invited her to the prom.'

Sei looked around. "Where's my phone?"

Meg said, "In your hand."

"What? Oh, yes, of course." She clipped the phone to her belt, put on her coat and grabbed her car keys, then said, "How do I look?"

"Fine," Meg said.

"Are you sure? Maybe I should put on a little make-no, wait, there's no time if I'm going to-"

"SEI!" Meg said. "It's a JOB interview. HE is supposed to make a good impression on YOU. He doesn't care what you look like."

"He doesn't? But he sounded so nice-"

"Sei. Please."

"Of course, Meg. Butterflies. All right. Here I go." She took a deep breath and headed out the door.

Meg sat there with one hand over her eyes.

Amy said, "Damn. You don't suppose she's a little nervous, do you, Meg?"

"No, y'think?"

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"Pro bono job done," Jo said as she shambled into the room she shared with Meg. She began to shed her work clothes. "No food left." The adrenaline rush that usually drove Jo into a frenzy had subsided and now she was turning into a lump.

"Oh, hi, Jo," Meg said from her vanity as she finished applying her facial mask. "Sei got a call from kid at Love and Happy; she's going to meet him and buy groceries with him. But Judas Priest, she was flustered! You'd think she was going on a blind date or something. I never thought 'd say this about Sei, but I'm really worried she will screw this up…"

Jo had changed into her orange night shirt and flopped face first onto the bed.

"…and you couldn't care less. I'll be sunning myself on the roof. If you need me."

Jo snored.

"Sweet dreams."

On the roof of the trailer, Amy had put on her own facial mask. They tried to relax on the chez lounges Meg had set up, but found that to be impossible when Amy's stomach started growling, and Meg heard it. "Jeez, it's not like you ate two hours ago. Oh, wait, you-"

Meg's stomach growled.

Amy giggled.

"All right, I'm hungry, too." Meg stood and looked out over the car dealership. She didn't see anything looking like Sei's sports car around the interchange.

Amy asked, "How long has it been?"

Meg checked her phone. "Almost two hours."

"Maybe he's a gorgeous hunk and they're making out."

"I don't care what they do as long as we eat first." She speed-dialed Sei's number.

Sei answered on the second ring. "Yes?"

"Sei," Meg said, "where are you?"

"Grocery shopping with our new cook. Just be patient. We'll be back soon."

Amy demanded, "Give me that!" and snatched the phone away from Meg. "Hurry it up! My stomach is starting to make strange noises….Hello?" She looked up at Meg. "She hung up. How did she sound to you?"

"Like normal, I guess…."

A few minutes later, Meg receive a text from Sei: 'Leaving store with our new master chef.' She read it to Amy.

"'Master chef'?" Amy said. "Really?"

"Really."

"Jeez!" Amy giggled. "Maybe our plan worked too well and she's falling in love with him."

"Oh, crap! I hadn't considered that."

"Why not? What's wrong with her falling for the new cook?"

"Amy - Sei? Relationships? Can you say, 'impending disaster'? As in remember why we're glad Leo doesn't work here every day?"

"Oh, crap. Well….maybe it's not that…bad… then… yet…right?"

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Twenty minutes later, Meg and Amy were lying in the lounge chairs when they heard the sports car's engine. Voices. Then Sei shouted from below them: "Hey, it's me! And I brought the new cook along."

Meg thought, 'He's already the new cook? That was one fast interview.' She said, "I'll be right down."

As Amy headed into the trailer, Meg climbed out of her lounge, stretched, then vaulted over the side of the trailer. She landed in a crouch, one knee down, arms out, then looked up at …

She thought: 'What in the name of God is going on here?'

The brown-haired kid was about as tall as Sei and SKINNY. Not even vaguely an Adonis. And he flinched when Meg looked at him. No - it looked like he had been panicking and was now on the brink of a heart attack. 'What the-' Meg thought, 'don't tell me this kid has never seen a facial mask. There's no way this kid will give Sei what she needs!'

Meg stood and brushed some hair out of her eyes as she heard the trailer's door open behind her. "It's about time!" Amy said from behind her. "I take it that's our new master chef?"

Sei beamed. "It is."

The kid bowed slightly. "Hello."

Meg's eyes narrowed. 'This is not what I had in mind,' she thought. 'Back to the drawing board…once we get rid of this guy.'

Sei's smile never wavered. "His name is Kyohei Tachibana."

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Meg crept back to the bathroom, sneaking glances over her shoulder to make sure Sei was still preoccupied showing - what was his name - Kyohei around. She found Amy wiping off the last of her facial mask.

"Amy," Meg hissed, "what the hell happened?"

"What do you mean, what the hell happened?"

"That does not look like an Adonis to me, Amy."

"It's a cooking school, Meg, not a male escort service. And now that I think about it, some of the guys in the gallery could have been models."

"Great. Well, Jo's back, and once we give her a coffee IV, we'll have to regroup and rethink, after we get rid of this twerp."

"Are you sure Meg? He is kinda cute, and I think Sei likes him."

"Cute? Sei does not need 'cute.' We will not get peace and quiet with 'cute.' Sei does not need someone to 'like.' Sei needs to have a male centerfold grab her hair like it's a-" Then Meg remembered she was talking to an 11 year old. "Never mind. Point is, this kid won't do. He has to go."

"And how are we supposed to do that?"

"Scare him. Two plus hours with the Dragon Queen of the Universe has probably left him ready to rabbit. A few choice words here and there, he'll run screaming for his mommy. Then we start over and do this right."

"Ok, Meg, if you say so."

Amy headed for the living area just as Jo shuffled out of her and Meg's room. "Gotta go. What's all the hubbub about?" she asked sleepily.

Meg grabbed a towel as she let Jo go past her to the toilet. "Got this kid from the school, Kyohei Something Or Other. He is not what we need, and we're going to get rid of him."

"Why?" Jo yawned. "He a bad cook?"

"What? Jo, no, remember - no, never mind. Just get mad about something."

"What?"

"Anything. '48 World Series."

"Oh. That sucked."

"Yeah, and just remember how much money you lost."

"Mmm-hmmm."

Meg wiped her face as she went into the living area. Sei and Amy were on one side of the table, what's-his-name - Kyohei - like it mattered - on the other side.

Kyohei said, "And by 'all,' do you mean your families live here, too?"

"Left to their own devices," Sei explained, "these girls eat only junk food. They need a cook like you who can whip them up something substantial." Sei glanced over her shoulder. "That's Meg." She looked at Amy. "And this is Amy."

Meg snapped at Kyohei, "Turn around!"

Kyohei flinched.

"Turn around," Meg repeated, "a hundred and eighty degrees."

Kyohei stood up and turned. "Ok. Like this?"

Actually, he was kind of cute, but Meg made a point of snorting in disgust. "Don't you think he's too young?"

"Can the attitude," Sei said. "You wouldn't know it, but he's an excellent cook attending a certified culinary school."

Kyo blushed. "Well, I don't know about 'excellent.'"

Meg thought, 'Yeah, I would know because we found the bloody school! What's with you, anyway?' But she held her tongue as Amy crossed to Kyo. 'Amy, please put the screws on!'

Amy sniffed the air and giggled. "He smells like cake!"

"Oh…" Kyo said. "yeah, I was practicing earlier."

"So, hey," Amy said, "didn't you think our little flier was cute?"

"Was that your work?"

"Yeah. I was kind of worried about who would respond to such a cool flier, but I guess you're all right. And besides, it looks like you could handle a little pain now and again."

Kyo flinched and Meg thought, 'Good one! He HAS to be almost ready to bolt.'

Meg said, "Don't get your hopes up. He's got a pansy looking face and he's as thin as a rail. He won't last two weeks."

"Girls," Sei said, "Kyohei is saving up so he can study abroad. Wouldn't it be wonderful if through this we could help him achieve his dream?"

Amy and Meg gawked. Meg thought, 'Since when does Sei think about anyone but herself?' Then they both laughed.

Amy managed, "He takes this job, he can study four broads!"

"'Achieve his dream,'" Meg said. "Funny stuff. Jeez, Sei, when did you grown a sense of humor?"

That struck a nerve in Kyohei. Meg thought, 'Mockery - unplanned but good. And he's probably been laughed at a lot for wanting to be a chef. C'mon, Kyo, there's the door.'

Leave it to Sei to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. "Just ignore them," she said. "So how about it? Would you like to come work for us?" There was no mistaking the warmth in her voice this time.

"Y-yes, of course," Kyohei said, "if you'll have me."

Things had definitely gone completely out of control. 'Sorry kid,' Meg thought. 'I almost hate to do this to you, but we need a stallion and you need to get out of here. Time to bring out the big guns.'

"Wait a minute," Meg said. "Doesn't Jo get a vote?"

Kyo asked, "Jo?"

"Oh," Sei said, "is she here?"

"Yeah, she got back while you were out," Meg explained. "Said something about finishing that pro bono job she was talking about."

Amy chimed in: "I bet she's off somewhere watching those super gory horror movies she likes. She always does that after a job." (Meg thought, 'Way to go, Amy!')

They heard a fist rapping on the bathroom wall - they'd run out of toilet paper. 'Perfect!' Meg thought. 'Time to pull the pin.'

"Hold on!" Meg called. She turned back to Kyohie. "Look away."

"Huh?"

"Don't you say anything but 'huh' or 'what'?"

Meg grabbed a fresh role of toilet paper out of an overhead cabinet and darted back to the bathroom.

"Jo," she hissed, "you have to talk to this cook."

"Huh?"

"He's lookin' at me funny. Hell, he tried to grab me when no one else was looking. A real creep and a weirdo and maybe there's a bounty on him. I need you to put him in his place."

"All right."

Meg led Jo back to the kitchen.

"Jo," Meg said, "so this is the new cook. What do you think of him? 'Cause I think he's a tool." And she thought, 'C'mon, Jo, get mad. He just needs one good scare and he's gone. You've threatened to kill people for spilling soda on someone else two tables away. Let's see that Angel of Death in all her glory!'

Unfortunately, the Angel of Death had left the building and been replaced by the Angel of Please Excuse Me While I Quietly Slip Into A Coma.

"It's a guy?" Jo said groggily. "Whatever. Like I care." She sat down against the counter and her eyes fell shut.

Sei smiled. "Ok then. Mr. Kyohei Tachibana, we will be counting on your services."

'She IS smitten with him,' Meg thought. 'Great, just freakin' great!'

Kyohei said, "Thanks."

Sei's phone chimed. She checked a text message. "Excuse me." She headed for the cockpit.

Kyo turned back to the other girls. Amy appeared to be sizing him up, coming around to the idea of Kyo working for them. But Meg hadn't given up hope of finding some way to get rid of him.

Jo yawned.

Kyo flinched, then took a half step towards Jo. "Excuse me, miss, but were you in-"

Meg pounced on Kyo. "What kind of line is that, 'excuse me, Miss?'" She grabbed his ear. "You'd better not be trying to hit on her!"

"I was just talking."

Meg let him go.

"Couldn't be…" Kyo murmured.

Sei came back from the cockpit with news of a job. Kyo asked what he should do while the girls were working.

Sei smiled at him. "I'm sorry, but would you mind going home until I call you? It shouldn't be long."

Meg crouched by Jo. "Jo. We've got a job."

Jo stirred and started to take her night shirt off.

Meg pushed her hands down. "Jo, stop it!" She glared at Kyo. "You! Get out of here already."

She pushed Kyo out the door, and unfortunately, he did not break his neck on the steps.

Then Sei leaned out the door. "Why don't you stop by after school tomorrow? … See you then." She closed the door. She smiled.

Meg slid the door open; Kyo was still standing there, looking back the trailer, dumbfounded.

"What the heck are you staring at?" Meg demanded. "We said scram!" She shut the door.

"Meg, that was uncalled for," Sei said.

"I don't like him," Meg said. "Maybe we should find someone else."

"Nonsense. I think he's more than up to the job." She smiled. "I'm satisfied that he'll fulfill our needs, so it's settled - he's hired. I'm actually disappointed we have this job now; I think it would be nice for him to stick around for a few more hours. Still, well done, girls."

'Yeah,' Meg thought, 'I am so glad you're happy…for the next five minutes. There is a god, and he hates me.'

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The job went through varying stages of strange and disastrous. Kyohei somehow got himself kidnapped because the syndicate goons thought he was their "buddy." Then a cybot got in on the act. Meg felt bad - It had been her screwball idea that had ultimately got Kyo into this mess, and yet he could end up dead. She took advantage of the chaos to loosen Kyo's straight jacket with a well-placed shot, then SHE was captured by the Cybot. But she got an e-mail out to the others and Kyo was there again when they were rescued by Jo in Django.

Which brought the girls back to the hangar and another small pile of wreckage. Meg braced herself for Sei's expected explosion.

"That's it?" Sei said.

"Best I could do," Jo said.

Meg thought, 'Here it comes.'

Sei said, "So we spend time money and ammunition, we don't get the enemy's identity, and this pile of junk is all you brought back. Grandfather is so not going to be happy about this."

'That's it?' Meg thought. 'What happened to the Dragon Queen?' She was so surprised, she didn't pay attention to what Amy said.

They found dishes and plates on the kitchen table and no sign of Kyo. Sei found a note and read it aloud: "'I'm sorry I caused you guys so much trouble. To make up for it, I made you dinner before I let. Enjoy and goodbye'?"

"Crazy," Meg said. "Maybe he's not such a bad guy after all." 'Just not a stallion,' Meg thought. 'We'll have to work on this tomorrow.'

Amy had already chowed down. "Guys - you have to try this!"

Meg took a taste. "She's right! And he made this all by himself."

Sei tried it. She smiled. "I guess the kid does have talent."

Amy said, "I want to eat like this every day!"

"I'm sure we can convince him to come back," Sei said.

Meg chuckled. Nope, Kyo was still not the man for the job, and she, Amy and Jo…well, she and Amy would have to put their heads together and figure out their next move. But thanks to Kyo, Sei's mood was a little better than normal, so they were on the right track. 'Thanks for stopping by, Kyo,' she thought. 'Goodbye and Godspeed.'


	3. Chapter 3

There was a quiet knock on the door of Meg and Jo's room.

Wearing matching night shirts, Jo lying on Meg's chest under their comforter, Jo and Meg stirred and looked at the door. It was the day after Meg's ordeal with the cybot, and another job had come in. But their target would not be available until after dark, so Sei had told the girls to get some more naps after breakfast. Meg spied her clock: It was almost noon.

She called, "Come in."

The door slid open and Sei cautiously stepped in. She was wearing a skimpy blue bathrobe that barely went past her hips and she'd let her hair down. "Excuse me," she said, "but do still have that scented bubble bath? I just realized I ran out."

"Sure…" Meg said groggily. "It's on the shelf behind you."

"Thanks." Sei took the bottle, tip-toed out (as if they weren't already awake), and closed the door. Meg shrugged, gave Jo a quick kiss on the forehead, and settled back.

Jo mumbled, "She shaved her legs."

"Mmm?"

"Sei. She shaved her legs."

"Oh. I noticed." Meg hugged Jo a little tighter as both girls relaxed.

Meg and Jo opened their eyes.

Meg and Jo looked at each other.

Meg and Jo chorused, "She shaved her legs?"

Meg and Jo got out of bed, left their room, and Meg knocked on the bathroom door. "Sei? Can we come in for a second?"

"Sure."

Sei was lounging in the tub, bubbles up to her shoulders, a glass of white wine at her elbow, reading a tablet in a water proof case.

Meg asked, "What are you reading? Anything more on the job?"

"No, I'm memorizing the floor plan of the Love and Happy Culinary Design School. What do you want?"

"Love and…" Meg said. "Oh, uh, Jo and I were wondering, did you shave your legs today?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Meg! I don't interrogate you about your personal hygiene. But if you must know, I felt like being…smooth today. I do tend to let it go longer than I should and decided to rectify it."

"So…you shaved…other places?"

"Of course. Wouldn't you?"

"Uh, depends…Are you feeling all right, Sei?"

Sei looked at Meg as if she'd grown a second head. "Meg, what are you getting at? Honestly, I don't see why it's any business of yours. I could enforce a stricter dress code so that we're not all half naked, but no, I leave some things up to you. It's none of my business. Understand?"

"Yes, uh…never mind. Sorry." She and Jo started to turn away.

"Oh, Meg," Sei said, "can I ask you your opinion on something?"

Meg turned back. "Sure. What?"

Sei was totally deadpan, as if she was asking about a stock market quotation: "To your knowledge, do teenage boys prefer breasts, buttocks, or legs?"

"Wh…what do you mean, Sei?"

"What I mean, Meg, is that when a boy your age or slightly older looks at a woman, do they prefer breasts, butts, or legs? As a general rule?"

"Uhh…."

"Or is it a matter of personal preference and you can't make a broad generalization?"

Jo looked at Sei, then turned to Meg, her look silently saying, 'This was your stupid idea. You deal with it.' Then she went back to her and Meg's room.

Meg turned back to Sei, who was waiting for an answer.

"Uh…" Meg stammered. "I really don't know, Sei, uh, I'm not even sure how to-"

"All right. Never mind. Any questions about your job tonight?"

"No."

"Good. Rest until 1500."

Meg got back into bed and Jo rolled her head onto Meg's chest.

Meg mumbled, "Jo, next time I have a bright idea, smack me."

Jo nodded. "Oh, Meg, before I forget, can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"What's a lesbian, and what does it have to do with my using your boobs as pillows?"

"Um, I'll explain that some other time."

"That's what you say every time I ask you."

/

/

When the girls got up, they dressed and ate leftovers from the night before. Meg had to admit to herself, again, that Kyo was a good cook, but probably not up to what they hoped for.

They were almost finished eating when Sei came out of her room.

"Oh, Meg, Jo, good," she said as she put on the second earring. "I have to run an errand downtown, and since I don't have time to do that and get back here and bring you in for the job, I will drop you two off downtown and complete my business. So I've put extra money on your debit cards. You'll be able to have some free time and get something to eat before you start the job."

Jo and Meg assented. Sei nodded and headed back to the bathroom.

Meg frowned. They had never done business like this before. She went back to the bathroom, Jo and Amy behind her. They found Sei touching up her makeup and scrutinizing herself in the mirror.

Sei said, "Yes?"

"Just wondering-" Meg broke off as she sniffed the air. "Are you wearing Passion Flower?" Meg was well aware of the expensive perfume usually associated with intimacy. Its advertising was so overtly sexual that the commercials had been banned from American adult entertainment networks for being in poor taste.

"Yes," Sei said.

Meg smiled and nodded. "Oh. I get it now. You have a date - a little quickie before we get down to business tonight. Must be someone special to rate scented bubble bath and Passion Flower. Who is it? We won't tell."

Sei looked at Meg as if she had grown three heads and five arms. "Meg, I have no idea what you are talking about. This is strictly business."

"Monkey business."

"Meg! …. Fine. You might as well know. After I drop off you and Jo, I am going to retrieve our chef."

"What chef?"

"Kyohei."

"Wh… the kid form yesterday? But he quit."

"I did not receive a letter of resignation."

"There was the note that said 'goodbye.'"

"All right then. I have not accepted his letter of resignation. Therefore, he is still in my employ. Therefore I am going to retrieve him."

"When did you hire him?"

"I asked him to work for us and he said he would."

"Wait…you mean you're getting all dolled up to tell THE COOK he hasn't really quit!?"

"Meg, you run your household, and I will run mine. I do not see your problem. I wish my new employee to be happy here, so of course, I mean to give him a favorable impression of his employer and his place of employment."

"That's not 'favorable impression,' Sei; that's 'come hither.'"

"Meg! Do you want to know anything pertinent to the job tonight?"

"No."

"Good." Satisfied with her appearance, Sei turned off the light, put on her coat, and went past the girls. "Finish gearing up. I'll be waiting at the car."

After Sei had left the trailer, Amy said, "Well, the good news is that when we're arrested for kidnapping, the three of us should be able to get tried as juveniles and get decent plea bargains."

/

/

After Jo and Meg had dinner, they took a cab to the block where their quarry had been sighted. When she called to check in on her cell phone, she learned Sei had returned with Kyo. And then Meg realized she had lost an ally in her quest to get rid of Kyo: He'd baked cookies at school, brought them along - maybe hoping producing junk food would get him fired? - and Amy loved them.

"They're almost too good," Amy said. "If you guys aren't back soon, they might be gone."

"You're kidding," Meg said. "They taste ok?" But she really thought: 'You're kidding. Have you forgot we tired to scare this guy off?'

"Yeah," Amy said. "They rock!"

Meg thought, 'Might as well accept it: We have a new chef to stay.' She said: "Well, leave me at least one, ok?"

"Maybe, if you're lucky."

"Y'know, you'll get fat if you eat enough of those."

"Then I guess you must have eaten a whole batch."

"Ha ha. Very funny." 'Well, we have new chef,' Meg thought, 'and Sei doesn't want to let go of him. Fine. Hell, maybe when Sei turns back into an ogre, Kyo will have a friend he won't mind sacrificing to the greater good.'

/

/

More than once during the job, Meg thought, 'Ok, do I do this to myself? Get myself in these situations where I have to be rescued?'

She'd ended up on a train with their target, Wong, being a captive of RAPT, and then Wong's twin brother believing she wanted to kill him. And Wong turning into monster. And the train on a collision course with a RAPT facility so he could get revenge against RAPT. And kill anyone around like Meg.

And Jo had to rescue her. Again.

When she woke up in Django's hand, she was grateful, but in the back of her mind she thought, 'Maybe this is getting ridiculous.'

Back in the trailer, with Kyo's rice and dumplings in front of her, Meg almost didn't feel like eating.

Almost.

She sighed, unwrapped the food, and tried the rice. "Well," she said, "I'll say this for him - he knows how to make me feel better."

Jo said, "So we keep him around?"

"Yeah, Jo." They still had the problem of Sei's moods to deal with, but at least they had a new chef.

Sei came down the steps from the cockpit. "Jo, I have Kyohei on the phone. He says you were involved in the shootout where is scooter was blown up. Is that true?"

"Not really sure," Jo said. "I do kind of get tunnel vision, but I remember something blowing up. He sure it was me?"

"Guns, underwear, and a glowing tattoo. Sounds like you."

"Then it was me. Tell him I'm sorry."

Sei turned back to the phone. "She says she's sorry. And I will meet you at the dealership tomorrow. 'Bye-eye." She hung up.

Meg asked, "Dealership?"

"Yes. Someone I employ is responsible for the loss of his property. I am going to make the first payment on the replacement. I think it's only fare."

"Ok, Sei, but … word to the wise: Don't wear Passion Flower."

"Meg!"

"Fine."


	4. Mission Accomplished

"There he is," Sei said, sitting in the front seat of Leo's truck, Meg, Jo, and Amy crammed in the back seat. It was late afternoon, and Leo was driving them to the scooter dealership where Sei was supposed to meet Kyo. "Pull up anywhere."

Leo noted the slim figure standing in the lot as he pulled up to the curve. "That's your new cook?"

Sei smiled. "That's him."

"Looks like a nice kid. When do you want us to pick you up?"

"Kyo's already agreed to give me a lift back on his new scooter. You guys have a good time."

"Oh," Leo said, "ok."

Sei unstrapped herself as soon as the truck stopped and almost jumped out. Amy squeezed between the front seats and settled into the passenger seat. Once she had strapped herself in, Leo stepped on the gas and pulled out into traffic.

Leo said, "So are you guys going to tell me who Sei's new boyfriend is?" There was a very slight edge in his voice.

Meg's blood ran cold - she hadn't considered whether Leo would get jealous of any new man in Sei's life. "Boyfriend?"

"Yeah. When we spoke on the phone, I noticed a slight lilt in her voice, and since we're still on the rocks, I'm guessing she has someone else. Who is it?"

Jo favored Meg with her 'This is your stupid idea - you deal with it' look then turned and look out the window. Amy just looked straight ahead and pretended not to notice anything happening within a ten foot radius of her.

Meg ran her fingers through her hair and hoped she didn't look like she had just passed a brick. "Well-" She cleared her throat. "-I don't know that she actually has a boyfriend per se, but there might be someone she could have her eye on, but we'd rather not say. How, uh, how do you feel about that, Leo?"

"Well…I won't lie to you Meg, I do feel a little jealous. But no matter how great the sex is, doesn't change the fact that Sei and I just can't make a relationship work, and that's when you get past the fact that I have a daughter who's almost her age. Or maybe it's because of that. Yeah, I had been hoping to patch things up again, but I'd be kidding myself if I thought it would be for good this time. So … I dunno. I guess I'll want to meet him sooner or later. But if he's a nice guy and treats her right, yeah, it's ok."

"That's a re-" Meg stammered, "-I mean, that's good to know."

"Are you ok, Meg?"

"Uh, I just had too much soda earlier. On a bit of a caffeine and sugar buzz."

"You gotta watch that stuff."

In the passenger seat, Amy rolled her eyes and settled down into the cushion.

/

/

Kyo looked over his shoulder at Sei as he watched over the final stages of everything cooking. "When are the others getting back?"

Sei was leaning against the wall of the kitchen area. "Getting back?"

"For dinner?"

"Oh, I didn't know how long we'd be at the dealership, so I had Leo take them to Odaiba for the evening."

"Leo? Is he your boyfriend?"

"Leo and I are…close. I've known him since I was 12. He built Django. We've been ….off and on for a couple of years now. At the moment … off."

"Oh."

Sei smiled at the combination of interest and disappointment he almost hid…almost. "What about you? Any budding domestic divas swooning over you?"

Kyo blushed. "No, Sei, although it would be nice to be around a normal girl." He winced. "What I mean is-"

"Don't sweat it, Kyo. But in answer to your question, the others probably won't be back for a few hours."

"What…? Oh. Damn. I just assumed I'd be cooking for everybody."

"Well, we can't have all that food go to waste. So why don't you have dinner with me? And put the rest aside for the others after they come back."

"Well…"

"Do you have plans? Do you have to be someplace?"

"No, although my parents were expecting me."

"Well, call them and see what they say."

By the time Kyo had got off the phone with his parents, who had said it was ok if he had dinner with Sei, their food had finished cooking.

Sei got a bottle out of the refrigerator. "White wine?"

"Sure."

When they started eating, Sei said, "So, Kyo, why don't you tell me a little more about yourself? What made you want to become a patissier…?"

/

/

Leo and the girls had just finished eating in one of the food courts of one of Odaiba's malls and were dumping their trays in a trash can when Meg's phone chimed. After she'd dumped her tray, she opened it and read the message. It was from Sei: 'I put more money on your debit cards. Have a good time; no need to rush back. ~S.'

Meg frowned and thought, 'How much more?' She thumbed to the app for her and Jo's debit cards and saw the latest transfers. Her eyes bugged out. "Jo-" Meg saw Jo wandering away out of the corner of her eye and instinctively reached out, grabbed Jo's scarf and yanked.

She'd forgot it was around Jo's neck.

Jo hacked and grabbed for the scraf as her feet almost went out from under her.

Meg let go of the scarf and winced. "Sorry."

"Meg-" Jo coughed as she loosened the scarf, "I could have shot you just now, you know that? It's times like this I wonder if I put up with too much because you saved my-"

"Sorry, Jo, but look at this!" She showed Jo her the phone's holoscreen.

Jo whistled. Amy opened her lap top and checked her own card.

Leo looked over Meg's shoulder. "You know what this means?" he said. "It's Leo laser tag time!" He bounded away.

Amy said, "Am I the only one wondering why Sei wants to keep us out later?"

Meg shook her head. "I don't even want to think about it."

/

/

When they got back to the trailer, they saw the new scooter parked next to it. Sei was sitting on the steps in an ankle-length orange bathrobe. She'd let her hair down and she was smoking a cigarette.

"Perfect timing," she said as Leo came over with the girls. "Did you have a good time?"

"Yes," Leo said. "And I guess you had a good date?"

"What date?"

"Sei, come on. You had a guy come over here. Don't worry, I'm not going to hunt him down and kill him."

Sei was all business, as if she was commenting on repairs to Django: "That's nice of you, Leo, but I did not entertain a visitor."

"So what's with the cig? You only smoke after-" He broke off.

Meg said, "I see the bike. So Kyo's still here?"

Sei nodded. "He's taking a nap in my room," she said matter-of-factly. "I figured I'd let him get some rest before he went home, although I wouldn't mind if he wanted to stay." She took a drag on the cigarette and blew smoke out her nose. "The Love and Happy school was a good choice, girls, if I do say so myself."

Leo said, "Wait… you mean … you said… Kyo's your new … and you… he…uh…" He smiled and started to back away. "Ok. Fine. I'll, uh, I have to run, but I guess I'll meet him…uh…later…" He spun and almost ran into his truck's hood. It seemed to take a little longer than average to find the driver's door. Then the truck headed away.

Sei turned to the girls. "He made extra food that we put aside in case you wanted to eat after you got back."

Meg smiled. "Thanks, Sei."

Sei scooted to the side and made room for the three girls to get by her and go up to the cab. Once inside, Meg, Jo, and Amy crept back to the living quarters and slid Sei's door open a crack. Kyo's head, arms, and bare chest poked out from under the blankets, his chest rising and falling with his quiet snoring; they could make out some of the marks on his neck.

The girls quietly closed the door and retreated to Jo and Meg's room.

Jo said, "She banged the new chef, and she's happy. Congratulations, Meg. Your plan worked."

Meg scratched her head. "Yeah, not what I had in mind, but you can't argue with results. Takes all kinds I guess."

"Whatever," Amy said. "Meg, you know I love you like a sister, but when we go to juvie hall for aiding and abetting child molestation and statutory rape, we are not going to be cell mates. Jo? We'll work something out."

THE END


End file.
